Connector assembly



May 13, 1969 s. P. BECKER 3,444,505

CONNECTOR AS SEMBLY Filed Jan. 17, 1967 INVENTOR 576F114? p asckae BY 5m M ATTORNEYS W 3, 1969 s. P. BECKER, 3,444,505

I CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 17. 1967 Sheet 3 of 5 INVENTOR .7JTEPHFA/ P. 8H

ATTORNEYS y 1969 s. P. BECKER 3,444,505 4 CONNECTORVASSEMBLY Filed Jan.17. 1967 Sheet 3 of s BY A ATTORNEYS May'l3, 1969 s. P. BECKER 3,444,505

CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 17. 19 7 Sheet 4 of 5 BY g A -4 IMATTORNEYS y 1.969 s. P. BECKER 3,444,505-

CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY I Filed Jan. 17. 1967 Sheet 5 of s INVENTOR S EP/ en}p BEKEQ BY a, pMm M ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 33994 2Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rugged and compact electrical cableconnector assembly for direct burial applications providing permanent,water-tight insulated junctions for both secondary phase and neutralconductors including in combination a body formed of an electricallyconducting material, arms extending from said body, an arm bore providedin each of said arms, an insulating coating of said body extendingpartially into each of said bores, attaching means for attaching one ofsaid conductors within one of said bores, and first and second sealingmeans for respectively providing sealing between said attaching meansand said respective bore and said attaching means and said respectiveconductor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has become highly desirable for a numberof reasons to bury electrical transmission wires underground. Connectorassemblies for such underground applications must be specificallydesigned with this end use in view. In direct burial applications wherethe connection of electrical wires is made and left without benefit ofenclosure in a vault, the connector used must be moisture proof andprovide its own sealing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A design in which individual connectorassemblies can be stacked for ease of installation and direct burialhaving a hub assembly of massive conducting material providing highelectrical capacity and which is fully insulated with a durable hardinsulation covering. A connector assembly in which each conductor can beindividually connected to a hub assembly by mechanical tightening andwith standard tools to provide a firm yet easily disconnected joint.

A connector assembly in which means are provided for optimumsubstantially strand to strand contact of connector and cableeliminating cold flow of the connection and there is provided readyaccessibility for disconnect or re-entry.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a connector assembly constructed in accordancewith the teachings of this invention with certain cable connections madetherewith;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of that portion of the assemblyshown in FIG. 1 which is utilized for attaching cables to the hubportion of the connector;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view taken along the line 33 in thedirection of the arrows in FIG. 1 illustrating a cable connected to theconnector assembly;

FIG. 4 is partially sectional view taken along the line 44 in thedirection of the arrows illustrating one form of plug means used tosealingly close a spoke of the hub of the connector in which no cable isdisposed;

FIG. 5 is an elevation of the connector assembly of this invention withadditional like connectors providing a stack diagrammaticallyillustrated in phantom lines;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of an alternate means forproviding sealing between the connector assembly and a cable connectedthereto;

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FIG. 7 is a segmentary view of the structure shown in FIG. 6 with thecable end connection to the hub of the connector assembly shown indetail; and

FIGS. 8-l2 illustrate connector assemblies constructed in accordancewith alternate embodiments of the invention.

' DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connector assembly 10constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention is shownin FIGS. 1 through 4 and consists of hub 12, connector cone 14, jam nut16, washer 18, sealing grommet 20 and sealing nut 22.

The hub 12 is generally circular and formed out of aluminum or othersuitable electrically conducting material With a plurality of radiallydisposed, internally threaded spokes 24. The hub is provided with aninsulating coating 26 such as durable hard vinyl by means of a dipcoating process. Of course, other insulating materials can be used forcoating or enclosing the hub and other means of attachment of theinsulating material to the hub can be utilized in the practice of theinvention.

A portion 26 of the insulating material extends within each of thespokes 24 covering a section of the internal threads 24'. The purposeachieved in continuing the coating within the edge portion of the spokeswill become apparent below.

Each of the spokes is provided with a two sectioned bore. One boresection is cylindrical and indicated by the numeral 28 in the figures.The major portion of bore section 28 is provided with threads 24'. Thesecond bore section is indicated in the figures by the numeral 30 and isconical in configuration with the cross-sectional diameter of the boreadjacent bore section 28 greatest in diameter but less in diameter thanthe diameter of bore section 28 providing an annular shoulder 32.

Connector cone 14 is formed of an electrically conducting material andprovided with a full length longitudinal slot 34 and two partial slots36 and 38. The connecting cone 14 is provided, as will be explained ingreater detail below, to encircle and grip the strands 40 of a cable 42attached to the connector and the cone 14 is sized to the conductor toprovide optimum encirclement and strand to strand contact. The slots 34,36 and 38 are provided to allow the connecting cone to become reduced indiameter in the fully assembled connector and firmly grip the cablestrands. The internal surface of the cone is provided with a corrugatedconfiguration 44 to aid in the formation of a firm contact with theconductor strand. An additional partial slot which is not seen in thefigures is provided diametrically opposite slot 34.

The jam nut 16 is formed of non-conducting material and has a hex nutcentral flange 46 with cylindrical por tions 48 and 50 extending fromopposite sides thereof and providing a continuous longitudinal bore 52which is flared outwardly slightly at 54 at one end. A major portion ofthe outer surface of flange 50 and a minor portion of the outer surfaceof flange 48 are threaded and the threads in the figures are indicatedby the numerals 50" and 48' respectively. Jam nut 16 is preferablyformed of a plastic material.

Washer 18 is annular and formed of rubber or other plastic flexiblematerial.

The sealing grommet 20 is also formed of a plastic material and in thepreferred embodiment the material is soft plastic as compared to theharder plastic out of which the jam nut 16 and sealing nut 22 areformed. Flexible sealing grommet 20 is non-conducting and is providedwith a central longitudinal bore 54 of uniform diameter and a section 56at one end having a uniform outer diameter. The remaining section 58 ofgrommet 20 is provided with an outer diameter which decreases constantlyto provide an outer conical surface having its greater diameter adjacentsection 56.

The sealing nut 22 is also formed of non-conducting V material and has athreaded bore section 60' and a lesser diameter bore section formingannular shoulder 62. The outer surface of nut 22 is in hexconfiguration.

The means for attaching cable 42 to the hub 12- is shown in explodedview in FIG. 2 and the fully assembled condition in FIG. 3. Inassembling or in attaching a cable to the connector the cable isprepared by skinning the insulation in the usual manner to exposestranded portion 40. The cable end is threaded through sealing nut 22,grommet 20, jam nut 16 and washer 18 and the exposed end 40 of the cableis inserted within connector cone 14.

Connector cone 14 is placed within bore 30 of spoke 24 and its outerconical surface is adjacent the conical surface of bore section 30.Sealing washer 18 abuts on one side the end of spoke 24 adjacent theinsulating coating 26 and on the other side the central portion 46 ofjam nut 16. The threaded portion 48' of jam nut 16 is engaged with thethreads 24 of the spoke and tighten by rotation of the jam nut. Themechanical pressure wedges the conical connector cone into bore section30 of the spoke providing a captive connection between the connectorcone and the conductor 40. Washer 18 seals the spoke 24 and preventsentry of moisture within the bore 28 thereof. The insulation 26 incontact with washer 18 provides a sealed junction and it is for thisreason that in the coating of the hub 12 section 26' of the insulationis provided and in order to insure that there is adequate and completecontact of washer 18 with insulation 26.

Tightening of sealing nut 22 completes the water-tight seal by theannular shoulder 62 of sealing nut 22 forcing the sealing grommet 20within the flared portion 54 of the bore of the jam nut.

It is noted therefore that each conductor can be individually connectedto the hub assembly by mechanical tightening with a standard wrench toprovide a permanent yet easily disconnected joint. The sealing nutprovides a water-tight seal at the entrance of the cable to theconnector and also provides ease of accessibility for disconnectorre-entry into the joint.

The water-tight fully insulated assembly permits use with both aluminumand copper conductors.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 4 three spokes remain withouta cable entering therethrough. In order to provide a completelyinsulated unit cylindrical cap 64 formed of non-electrically conductingmaterial are inserted one within each of the spokes 24 not receiving acable. Each of the caps 64 is provided with a conical body portion 66, aclosed bottom 68 and a flange 70 for ease of insertion and removal. Itis noted that the caps 64 are of uniform diameter and upon insertion aredisposed within bore section 28 of spoke 24.

The completed phase and neutral connections may be stacked pancakefashion in position for ease of direct burial. Each pancake providescomplete flexibility to direction of services and of conductor sizes.Hence in FIG. a connector 74 constructed in accordance with theteachings of this invention is shown stacked upon other connectors whichare shown diagrammatically and phantom lines and indicated generally bythe numerals 76, 7 8 and 80. Means can be provided for affixing theconnectors 74, 76, 78 and 80 to one another or they can be merelydisposed in stacked position.

An alternate means for providing a seal between a cable and the assemblyis shown in FIGS. 6 through 7. The jam nut 116 is equipped with a heatshrinkable silicone rubber tubing 82 to provide the outer seal of theassembly to the cable jacket 142. In this embodiment the shrinkablesleeve 82 is first attached to the flanged section 150 of jam nut 116 byheat shrinking and the cable 142 which has been skinned to exposestrands 140 is inserted through the bore of jam nut 116 and the end 140disposed within connector cone 114. In this embodiment the jam nut 116,connector cone 114, washer 118 and spoke 124 are of the sameconfiguration as in the previous embodiment and in the fully assembledcondition the washer is in firm contact with the insulation 126 on theend of the spoke 124 and connector cone 114 is firmly gripping cable end140.

The remaining portion of tubing 82 is then heat shrunk to firmly embracethe outer surface of cable 142 providing a firm seal therewith.

Other types of shrinkable tubing can be used in the embodiment disclosedin FIGS. 6 and 7 including the tubing which is shrinkable by applicationof chemicals.

Alternate embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 812.

In FIG. 8 the connector includes a body 200 having four outlets 201,202, 203 and 204 disposed at right angles to one another and the bodyand outlets are coated with an insulating material as in accordance withthe embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 7.

In FIG. 9 a two outlet connector 205 is shown which is also coated as inaccordance with the previous embodiments.

In FIG. 10 a four outlet connector 206 is shown having a feeder 207 and3 tapons 208, 209 and 210 and as with the previous embodiments, the bodyand arms of the connector are coated with a suitable insulatingmaterial.

In FIG. 11 a four outlet dome-type connector having insulating coatingis shown and indicated by the numeral 211 with the arms indicated by thenumerals 212, 213, 214 and 215 respectively.

In FIG. 12 connector 216 is provided with arms 217, 218, 219 and 220'forming a type of table. The connector 216 as is the case with theconnectors previously described, is coated with a non-conducting orinsulating material.

Additional or fewer outlets can be provided on the various connectorsshown and described.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention, asspecifically aforenoted, are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes mightbe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A connector assembly for electrically and mechanically connectingconductors including in combination a body formed of an electricallyconductive material, arms extending from said body, an arm bore in eachof said arms, an insulating coating of said body extending partiallyinto each of said bores, a conical section of each arm bore having itsgreatest diameter outwardly of said body, a collapsible connectingmember having an outer conical surface at least partially within saidconical section in adjacency with the inner surface of said arm bore anda conductor receiving bore for embracing the exposed conductor end, athreaded bore section of each arm bore outwardly of said conicalsection, a fastening member having a fastening member bore through whichsaid respective conductor can pass to be received Within saidcollapsible connecting member, a threaded portion of said fasteningmember cooperable with said threaded bore section for attaching saidfastening member thereto, an abutting surface of said fastening memberabutting said connecting member and urging said connecting member towardsaid body with said connecting member being collapsed about saidconductor by the wedging action of its outer surface and the surface ofthe bore of said conical section, a resilient Washer member with firstand second annular surfaces respectively abuttingly engaging said arm atsaid insulating coating and said fastening member providing a sealbetween said respective fastening member and said respective bore, aninternal camming surface provided by a flared outer end of saidfestening member bore of increased diameter, a resilient grommet memberand a sealing nut cooperable with said fastening member, said sealingnut having an inwardly facing annular shoulder abutting said resilientgrommet member and urging it between said camming surface and saidrespective conductor providing a seal between said respective fasteningmember and said respective conductor.

2. A connector assembly for electrically and mechanically connectingconductors including in combination a body formed of an electricallyconductive material, arms extending from said body, an arm bore in eachof said arms, an insulating coating of said body extending partiallyinto each of said bores, a conical section of each arm bore having itsgreatest diameter outwardly of said body, a collapsible connectingmember having an outer conical surface at least partially within saidconical section in adjacency with the inner surface of said arm bore anda conductor receiving bore for embracing the exposed conductor end, athreaded bore section of each arm bore outwardly of said conicalsection, a fastening member having a fastening member bore through whichsaid respective conductor can pass to be received within saidcollapsible connecting member, a threaded portion of said fasteningmember cooperable with said threaded bore section for attaching saidfastening member thereto, an abutting surface of said fastening memberabutting said connecting member and urging said connecting member towardsaid body with said connecting member being collapsed about saidconductor by the wedging action of its outer surface and the surface ofthe bore of said conical section, a resilient washer member with firstand second annular surfaces References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS1,441,801 1/1923 Guenther et al 33994 1,706,833 3/1929 Zagorski 339--27O1,712,108 5/1929 Goeller.

2,087,384 7/1937 Lee 339242 X 2,232,963 2/1941 Papp et al.

2,533,200 12/1950 Rogoff 339223 2,791,623 5/1957 Lock et al.

3,029,407 4/1962 Burton et a1.

3,183,476 5/1965 Sacks et a1 339270 X 3,288,914 11/1966 Fuller et a133997 X RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH H. MCGLYNN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

